


If You Close Your Eyes

by thelittlestwolf



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek moves in, Insomnia, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Nightmares, Stiles can't sleep, Teen Wolf AU, hijinks ensue, post 3b
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-08
Updated: 2014-03-08
Packaged: 2018-01-15 01:31:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1286155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelittlestwolf/pseuds/thelittlestwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles can't sleep after the nogitsune haunted him for weeks. The Sheriff asks Derek to move in for a while. Stiles just wants things to go back to normal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If You Close Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> for my darling casey on for her BIRTHDAY (sorry it's so late love me still pls)
> 
> i'm over here on tumblr if that's your thing -> studmuffinstilinski.tumblr.com
> 
> come say hey

“I couldn’t put you out like that. Honestly, I’m fine.”

Derek doesn’t know any other way to phrase that sentence anymore. He feels like he’s said it a hundred times in a hundred different ways to a hundred different people and he’s running out of variations.

After the nogitsune had been exorcised and driven out of Beacon Hills, apparently everyone suddenly realized Derek had been living alone for the past few years. Chris offered him a room in their apartment and Derek almost accepted because he liked Chris. Well, maybe like was too strong of a word to use to describe how he felt about someone who used to hunt him, but after being nearly blown up and imprisoned together, Derek and Chris had become friends.

But he didn’t want Allison to be uncomfortable or anything because he still wasn’t sure how she felt about him. Besides, he wasn’t living in his burned out house in the woods anymore. He had a place to stay. So he passed up the offer and went back home, even though it didn’t feel very homey when he was all alone.

The next week when he ran into Melissa at the store, the same thing happened.

“Scott told me you were living by yourself. I already have two teenage boys living at home so it really wouldn’t hurt to have one more…” She had said. And although Derek was flattered and maybe a little concerned that Melissa thought he was a teenager, he thanked her and declined. He didn’t want to intrude or stalk Scott or anything, even though he had that one time.

But that was different. That had been a concern for his safety and at the moment, there wasn’t anything threatening Scott. Except for maybe the Yukimuras when they realize Kira had been sneaking out to hang out a few nights a week. But even Derek knew better than to get in the middle of that.

But somehow, when the Sheriff asked, Derek couldn’t find a way to say no.

“Ah, come on, son. We don’t cook… Or clean really. But we do have cable. And heat.”

“Uh, no… I…”

“Hey. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But I think Stiles might feel better with a werewolf around more often.”

How could Derek say no to that? After everything that happened to Stiles, how could Derek say no to making him feel safe? Scott and Isaac were around as much as they could be, but they were teenagers and they had girlfriends and school to worry about and Stiles didn’t want them to wait on him hand and foot. He would tell them he was fine and send them away, but really, how fine could someone be after they had been possessed and wreaking havoc on their friends and family?

“I guess I could stay for a few nights.” Derek finally said. The Sheriff smiled.

“Hope you like macaroni and cheese.”

…

Stiles didn’t know how long he had been sitting on his bed. He didn’t know how long he had been doing anything anymore. He didn’t know what was real. He didn’t know the difference between his memories, hallucinations, and the lies the Nogitsune had whispered in his ear. He didn’t know anything.

It had been a month since he woke up on Deaton’s table, sweating, cold, and screaming. Everything hurt, like something had been ripped out of him. His bones felt soft and everything was wrong.

“Stiles! Stiles!” A million voices screamed, as if he was coming back to life. He might as well have been dead, he thought.

How much are you living when you can’t even control your own body. 

“Stiles?” A voice called and brought Stiles out of his mind. The Sheriff stood in the doorway with a concerned look on his face. Stiles didn’t even know what his dad looked like without that look anymore.

“Hey, Dad.” He said, trying to sound as normal as possible. His voice seemed to be eternally raspy, from lack of sleep. He didn’t like sleeping anymore. He didn’t even know how.

“Get any sleep?”

“A little.” He lied. His dad narrowed his eyes.

“You really shouldn’t lie to cops.” He said, trying to force a smile. Stiles smiled in return, wanting nothing more than to see a different expression on his father’s face.

“Well, I’ve never really done anything I should do anyways, so there’s no use in starting now.” Stiles sighed. The Sheriff came in and felt Stiles’ head. Not that he was sick, but it made his dad feel better. It made them both feel less powerless.

“You’re looking better, son. That’s good.”

He said that every day.

“I guess so. What’s up, Dad?”

“I just wanted to run something by you. I may have asked Derek if he wanted to stay with us for a while.”

“What?” Stiles asked, suddenly feeling more awake than he had felt in months.

“I just… I feel bad that the kid stays in that big loft all on his own. It’s not even really a loft… More like a warehouse. And I don’t think anyone should be around that uncle of his…” The Sheriff said.

Stiles swallowed hard. He hadn’t seen Derek since he woke up a month ago. Scott had been on one side and Derek on the other, holding him down until he stopped screaming. Five hours later.

Stiles had to sort through a lot of memories to figure out what was real and what wasn’t. Turned out most of it was real, especially the most terrible things. He couldn’t pick up anything without thinking how his hands felt around that sword, twisting in Scott’s stomach. He couldn’t raise his arms without remembering how he threw Derek into a wall.

It took two weeks for him to even look Scott in the eye. He hadn’t seen a single ounce of resentment, but rather relief. Scott wrapped his arms around him, held him, and didn’t say a word while Stiles cried into his shirt. That was the only night since the nogitsune that Stiles had slept through the night because his brother never left his side.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Stiles knew Scott would always forgive him. But Derek?

Derek was Derek. Derek was _I’m going to rip your throat out with my teeth._ And _I don’t trust you, you don’t trust me._ Derek was a million things that Stiles wasn’t sure he could ever understand.

“Son?”

“I’m sorry, Dad, what were you saying?” Stiles asked.

“If you’re not okay with it, I can tell him something came up or something…” The Sheriff said as he came and sat beside Stiles on the bed. “I just want you to feel safe again, Stiles.”

Stiles looked at his dad and saw something he had never seen before. He saw the lines around his eyes and the strands of grey in his hair and the years that had passed in a matter of days. He looked old, much older than he should. He looked human.

And the Sheriff knew that in this crazy supernatural world, there wasn’t a thing he could do to protect his son. Stiles offered his dad a half smile, or as much of one as he could manage.

“Okay. But you might want to put some newspapers out or something. Are we sure he’s housetrained?”


End file.
